Maria Elvira Salazar has won the U.S. House seat for Florida’s 27th Congressional district, beating incumbent Rep. Donna Shalala (D-Fla.).
Shalala, considered one of Miami’s top politicians, unexpectedly lost the race to former TV journalist Salazar.
Salazar flipped a district generally considered Democratic, winning 54.1 percent, or 175,081 votes, against Shalala, who previously served under President Bill Clinton as secretary of Health and Human Services.
The district includes Miami Beach, Coral Gables, Kendall, and Key Biscayne.
Florida Democrats were expecting to win this seat for a second term after Shalala’s victory in 2018.
Salazar has sharply criticized Shalala for failing to report several stock sales, and also depicted her as an out-of-touch millionaire linked to self-described democratic socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).
Salazar said she was honored to officially accept the position of congresswoman for District 27.
Salazar’s career as a Spanish-speaking journalist spans over three decades working as news anchor on Telemundo, CNN Español, and Univision. She has interviewed a host of political leaders including Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, former President of Colombia Alvaro Uribe, former Prime Minister of Spain Jose Maria Aznar, and former President of Mexico Vicente Fox.